Andrew Groth (Infosys)
Recent analysis has found that just 18 per cent of Australian and New Zealand businesses have at least 60 per cent of their tech in the cloud, which is allowing them to make the most of an annual US$18 billion windfall.
The claim comes from global systems integrator (GSI) Infosys’s research arm, the Infosys Knowledge Institute, and its Infosys Cloud Radar 2021 report, which found that businesses that have at least 60 per cent of their systems are able to boost annual profitability by utilising the cloud.
The value of these profits on an annual basis, according to the GSI, total US$18 billion in the A/NZ region.
In the report, which looked at over 2,500 respondents from companies located in A/NZ, as well as the US, UK, France and Germany, the local region’s 18 per cent was considered to be “around the middle of the pack” — ahead of the collective Europe’s 13 per cent, but just behind the US’ 20 per cent.
On average, A/NZ companies came first for cloud adoption with 43 per cent of IT systems moved to the cloud, tied with the US. By next year however, this figure is expected to reach 52 per cent, to see it tied for third with France, with the GSI claiming “this move downwards indicates local cloud adoption strategies are less aggressive than other regions”.
According to Infosys VP and regional head Andrew Groth, A/NZ enterprises performed well when using the cloud for speed but came up somewhat short when it came to capability.
“This shows that while Australian and New Zealand enterprises can harness the cloud to deploy and scale fast, there is still a need to drill into those growth benefits such as finding new revenue streams,” he said.
“Accessing these benefits will see enterprises utilising cloud to foster collaboration or unlocking value from data via artificial intelligence.
“It’s this combination of using cloud to deliver on enhanced speed and capability that typifies the highest performing businesses we surveyed. If local enterprises keep pushing boundaries across their cloud strategies, they are likely to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage at a global level.”
In fact, businesses looking to leverage artificial intelligence through the cloud have a steeper journey ahead of them, with Infosys claiming they need to have at least 80 per cent of their business functions, such as cross domain business applications, in the cloud to boost profit growth.
On a global scale, the report also determined the characteristics of what makes up an “exceptional” cloud performer, which it claims are businesses that utilise a large mix of cloud service providers and frequently employ hybrid cloud arrangements. According to the report, 16 per cent of respondents were ranked at the exceptional level.
Meanwhile, highly effective performances, making up 19 per cent of respondents, are those that have moved nearly as many business functions to the cloud as exceptional performers and are motivated to use cloud for accelerating deployment of solutions and services.
The lion’s share was ranked effective performers, at 33 per cent, which were categorised by their moves to rapidly shift business functions to the cloud but started with fewer business functions in the cloud two years ago. They are also more focused on the cloud for cost-savings than those in the ranks above them.
At the bottom of the ladder are minimally effective performers, making up the remaining 32 per cent. These businesses are those that are least likely to use public cloud and have the least certainty in estimating cloud expenditures, according to Infosys.
